Spring is almost in the air! Can you feel it? Well probably not. Living in Southwest Florida, every day feels like spring with the exception of the swamp like muggy summer days but I digress. Hope all is well with you and your family.

We are gearing up for a HUGE weekend here at West. First of all, we are continuing our “Love + Works” series this weekend with a message called, “It’s Party Time!” Seriously…….who doesn’t love a party? We will be talking about a party that took place in the gospels that changed a community. Many of you had parties over the course of the last few weeks to help us collect hopefully more than 2,500 food items to be donated to under privileged children in SouthWest Florida. I believe we will shatter that goal and you can help make that possible. Please make sure to bring your food donations from your parties or personal collections this weekend when you come to church. There will be drop off instructions given as soon as you pull up to the property this weekend. In addition to bringing your food items, don’t forget to bring to church with you all of those who helped make your donation possible. This will be a great celebration as well as a can’t miss opportunity for you to invite your unchurched friends to West. This could be the weekend that changes their lives forever!

Baby dedication weekends are some of my most favorite of the year. We have such a weekend coming up here on March 16, 17th. If you have a young child that you wish to have dedicated, make sure to either check the back of the connection card or sign up at the visitor kiosk before or after service this weekend. We will be doing the dedication in each of our 3 weekend services. This is a great opportunity to not only dedicate your child and ask for God’s blessing on their life, but also a prayer of commissioning for you as a parent. We know how challenging being a parent can be in our world today. We want to invite God’s blessing and wisdom into your journey. This is also another great opportunity to bring some people to church with you to take part in the special day of your child.

Along those same lines, West will be holding our “All things New” baptism celebration weekend on the weekend of April 6-7. If you are a follower of Christ and have not yet been baptized in water, don’t miss this opportunity. Baptism is a public way to let people know that your life is no longer the same. Jesus actually commanded his followers to be baptized as a public confession of faith. At West, we use these opportunities to celebrate the amazing things that God does in the life’s of people all over our city. Just like the baby dedication, baptism is another incredible way to invite unchurched family and friends to a church experience. There is no better argument for the gospel than that of a changed life. Your baptism service could pave the way for someone close to you meeting Jesus for the first time! Sign up this weekend on the back of the connection card or at the visitors kiosk.

We are rapidly approaching Easter which is astounding to think about. On March 30-31, West’s Easter celebration weekend will be entitled “Who is Jesus?” During Easter weekend, we will discuss the question that begs an answer from all. Who is Jesus? Is He just some guy that was able to inspire followers and create conflict with religious leaders or is He more than that? And if He is more than just “some guy” what does that mean for you and I? How can Jesus still be relevant 2000 years after the events of His life took place. We will be discussing these questions and many more this Easter weekend. All kids in attendance that weekend will get to take part in our massive Easter Egg hunt here on property as well as have the gospel story told to them in a fun and creative way. I can’t wait to see what God will do at West this Easter season. Due to anticipated large crowds, West will be adding a 4th worship service for our Easter service. Those service times will be Saturday night at 6:30. Sunday morning at 8, 9:30 and 11:15 am. Bring as many people as you can!!!!!

This weeks volunteer spotlight is on Lanette Elliott, who is one of the nicest people we have the privileged of knowing here at West. Her heart for helping people is inspiring. We love having Lanette on both our hospitality and guest services team who always greets our visitors with a smile. She also helps in our office whenever needed, which is a huge help! Her skills are great, but her character is even greater. We are so blessed to have Lanette on our team of volunteers, thank you Lanette for everything you do!